DNA
by House-less
Summary: An unwelcomed visitor emerges from the past and threatens the equilibrium of the family Cuddy has struggled to have. House, Cuddy, Rachel and etc.


**DNA**

''Dr. Cuddy, a young man wants to see you. He's with his lawyer,'' Cuddy's assistant said.

She frowned, checked her agenda and turned back to her assistant.

''A patient?'' she asked distractedly. ''Tell him our lawyer will take care of his suit.''

''He says it's personal, Dr. Cuddy.''

''Personal,'' she repeated. She really didn't want to see anyone, she was busy enough with her paperwork. ''Reschedule 2 o'clock.''

The assistant, an old lady, nodded, though not totally satisfied. ''It seemed important,'' she said lightly when she headed to her office.

''Maddy,'' Cuddy called her before she reached the door. ''I'll see him now. Thank you.''

''I'll let them in,'' she approved with a smile.

''Ugh, you have this power on me.''

The woman smiled knowingly and exited the room.

* * *

''Hi,'' the Dean greeted the two men, shaking hands with both. ''My assistant said you wanted me for some important personal stuff,'' she said. She was in no mood for futile discussions.

''Erm, actually yes. I'm Simon, does this sound familiar?''

Of course it did. He was familiar to her, she just couldn't put a name on him. And now, she knew exactly who he was. If she was panicking, she showed nothing.

''Yes. How can I help you?''

''I want my daughter.''

He wasn't there for futile discussions either, it seemed. Cuddy made a great effort to stay calm and not show her surprise at the brutal statement.

''You mean _my_ daughter,'' she corrected him defensively.

''She has _my_ DNA,'' he snapped.

The tone of the conversation was escalating.

''I raised her for six years. I _saved her life_.''

''I know. And I thank you for that. Now I'm an adult.''

''Good for you,'' she responded, crossing her arms over her chest and frowning. She was trying not to lose control of herself, otherwise she'd punch him in the face.

''When you took Rachel, I was sixteen. I couldn't take care of her. Now it's different.''

''It's not how it works, sir. You can't just wait until you're ready to take care of your child.''

''Well, we all make mistakes.''

''Yours was coming here.''

''You can't handle the idea of not having her with you. Imagine me, her real father.''

''She _has_ a real father. You're her biological father, no more, no less.''

''Well, say that in the court,'' he said, a little more loudly.

She was about to protest when the lawyer, who stayed silent the whole time, handed her a thick file and explained quickly how she had no chance of keeping the little girl. And it seems like she pretty much had none.

When they left, he slammed the door so hard the sound it made startled her. She jumped in place from surprise.

Abruptly, brusquely, she woke up, in sweat and alarmed. Her first instinct was to jump out of the bed and head to the door, but she was stopped by a soft hand on her arm.

A nightmare. It wasn't the first time, but the last one was long ago. She thought she was cured. But that night proved her that whatever she did, she'd carry that fear of losing her somewhere deep inside her. Even after years she adopted Rachel, she unconsciously feared that someone would take her from her. And her more or less regular nightmares were there to remind her of that.

She turned to face him, his hand caressed her arm and ended up in hers. ''Whassup?''

"I'll just go check on her," Cuddy murmured, calming a bit.

"She's fine, sleeping right where you left her," he said, perfectly aware of the nature of her nightmares.

"It's okay, I'll just see her," she insisted, getting up. She almost fell back on the bed, her eyes not well adjusted to the darkness.

"I'm not a dreams expert but if you ignore them, they have no meaning anymore. Accept it's not real."

She hesitated.

''It _felt_ real.''

He knew things about ''feeling real''. He gestured to her to sit down, leaning his back against the headboard. She sat down beside House. He looked at her, letting her decide whether or not she wanted to talk about it.

''Her fa... Her biological father wanted to take her back. He was with a lawyer, they showed me files... Everything was so... So coherent...''

''You know he signed to abandon his rights as a father, right?''

''I know, House.''

''No one can take her from you. Not even me,'' he said softly. ''Actually I can since I'm her father but this won't happen.''

''And why?'' she asked teasingly, regaining a bit of her usual confidence.

''Because I am not ready to give up the great sex yet.''

''And what happens when you'll be _ready to give up the great sex?''_

''Then I'll be still in love with you. You got me trapped.''

''Fair enough.'' She offered him a genuine smile and laid down next to him. ''I'm trapped too.''

''No. You're stuck.''

''I hate your memory sometimes,'' she groaned, giving him a gentle pat on his chest.

''I hate your insomnia. And your nightmares,'' he snapped at her, caressing her back as she put her head on his shoulder.

''Yeah yeah. Go back to sleep, I'll be fine.''

''Don't think I can't feel you _discretely_ slipping out of the bed to check on her.''

She raised her head toward him and kissed him to prevent him from saying more. House tightened his grip on her and they lay down like that.

She decided he was right, she had to fight her demons.

* * *

Hiii!

I've been going through my old files and when I found this little one-shot, I realized I've never posted it here. It was inspired from this prompt: " _A nightmare, in which you relived a terrifying memory, causes you to wake up drenched in sweat_."

I hope you enjoyed it! :)


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